Nats delay fill-in starter decision until later in week

When it came time to map out their pitching plans for today’s doubleheader, the Nationals had to consider multiple factors.

* Should they use regular starters Josiah Gray and Joan Adon, taking stress off their bullpen today but forcing them to find a fill-in starter later this week?

* Should they use one starter today and use their bullpen in the nightcap, saving Adon for Wednesday and keeping the rest of the rotation intact the rest of the week?

* Should they use their allotted 29th player for the doubleheader on a spot starter from Triple-A?

In the end, the Nats chose to go with Gray and Adon, call up reliever Francisco Pérez as the 29th man and delay their decision on a fill-in starter until the end of the week.

“Our bullpen has been pitching so much,” manager Davey Martinez said. “So we’ll have to make a decision this weekend, but (I’m) just worried about getting through today.”

Short-term benefit outweighed long-term concerns in this case. After watching their bullpen get taxed during their 11-games-in-11-days opening stretch to the season, the Nationals needed to avoid a scenario today in which they had to burn everyone up, the potential domino effects of that causing further damage down the road.

Martinez will hope for at least five innings from both Gray and Adon today, minimizing their bullpen workload and ensuring enough relievers are still available Wednesday. That hasn’t been a guarantee to date: Gray and Adon each has totaled nine innings through his first two starts of the season.

The schedule will dictate a fill-in starter no later than Saturday against the Giants, and it appears the Nationals’ preference is to use Paolo Espino for that game. The swingman reliever was stretched out to start during spring training and probably could give them 4-5 innings, provided he’s not needed to pitch in the days leading up to that.

If Espino is needed sooner, the Nats would have to call someone up from Triple-A Rochester. The problem with that: No minor league starters are currently on the 40-man roster, so a transaction would have to be made to clear a spot. Veteran Aaron Sanchez would probably be the choice in that scenario.

Pérez, meanwhile, will be available out of the bullpen for the nightcap only. In order to be available for both games of the doubleheader, the Diamondbacks would have needed to grant consent. And because they used their 29th man on a starter (Tyler Gilbert), they had no reason to grant that consent because they only need Gilbert for the second game.

* Ehire Adrianza continues to rehab in West Palm Beach, Fla., but the infielder has not begun running on the field or participating in any baseball activities yet. Adrianza, who suffered a strained quadriceps muscle during the final week of spring training, remains a ways from coming off the 10-day injured list. “Those quads are tricky,” Martinez said.

* Stephen Strasburg and Joe Ross are throwing off a mound in West Palm Beach but have not yet faced live hitters, according to Martinez. Strasburg had previously pitched to hitters early in spring training but took a step back while working on pitching out of his windup for the first time in five years. The right-hander, who is recovering from last summer’s thoracic outlet surgery, is aiming for 20-to-25 starts this season. Ross, who is recovering from surgery to remove a bone spur in his elbow, is on the 60-day IL and isn’t eligible to return until June.

* Carter Kieboom, who injured his elbow early in spring training, has not yet been cleared to start throwing. Kieboom also is on the 60-day IL and can’t make his season debut until June at the earliest.